‘Humans make mistakes’: Podcaster Lex Fridman backs Jensen Huang’s Nvidia exit, recalls Steve Jobs’ ouster from Apple

Computer scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman has called Jensen Huang’s exit from Nvidia a ‘huge mistake for America and humanity’, drawing a parallel with Apple’s removal of Steve Jobs in 1985. Apple fired Steve Jobs in 1985 following a major power struggle with then CEO John Sculley and the board of directors.

“NVIDIA letting Jensen go is a huge mistake, for America and for humanity. it’s Apple firing Steve Jobs all over again, but much bigger, given the role of AI in defining the future of our world,” Fridman wrote on X.

Fridman said he ‘hates infidelity’, but added that humans make mistakes and “Jensen is human.”

Fridman extended his heartfelt sympathies to Huang’s family during this difficult phase. He said he had kept quiet out of respect for Huang’s family and team, whom he described as “amazing humans.”

The podcaster said he had known Huang for years and had spent considerable time with him away from the public eye. Recalling his personal interactions, Fridman said he had witnessed Huang display “kindness, humility, care to everyone around him”, including strangers and people from the poorest sections of society. He added that such behaviour “shows rare character”.

Fridman further claimed that more than 1,000 people who had known Huang closely over the years, including hundreds of engineers, CEOs, colleagues and friends, had spoken highly of him in private.

Responding to the espionage allegations, Fridman described Huang as an extremely proud American. He said he was shocked by “all of this, including the mass hysteria around it”.

Concluding his post, he expressed his support for the Nvidia chief, writing, “I stand with Jensen” and “Love you all”.

Huang’s last hours at the company before resigning as CEO were filled with despair as the executive looked “broken and shattered, his legendary energy depleted”, according to a Bloomberg report.

Huang resigned unconditionally as CEO of Nvidia late on Wednesday night, the report said. His “usual take-charge demeanor had evaporated”, according to a person familiar with the situation said the news report.

What led to Jensen Huang’s exit?

Huang, the preeminent face of the AI infrastructure boom, was ousted from his post after reports of two affairs, including one with a woman suspected of spying for China.

Longtime Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is taking the job of interim CEO, Nvidia said on Thursday, and Huang will no longer have ties with the chipmaker. The board, which has never had a chair before, appointed director Harvey Jones to that role. Jones, 73, formerly led Synopsys Inc., a company that Nvidia took a $2 billion stake in last year.